Digital economy, industrial structure upgrading and green total factor productivity——Evidence in textile and apparel industry from China

Abstract

According to the standard of GB/T4754-2017 Classification of National Economic Industry and the characteristics of the textile and apparel industry, the textile and apparel industry is divided into three categories: textile industry, clothing industry and chemical fiber manufacturing industry. Based on the panel data of the textile and apparel industry from 2010 to 2019, this paper measures green total factor productivity (GTFP) by using the unexpected output super efficiency SBM model and the ML index. On this basis, this paper empirically tests the impact of digital economy on the GTFP of textile and apparel industry, and the dual intermediary effects of rationalization of industrial structure and advanced industrial structure are discussed. The results show that: (1) The GTFP of the textile and apparel industry shows a fluctuating upward trend, but it is in a state of low growth. (2) Digital economy has a significant effect on promoting the GTFP. Among them, it has a positive effect on the improvement of GTFP in textile industry, but has no obvious effect on the clothing industry, and has a restraining effect on the chemical fiber manufacturing industry. (3) In the process of the impact of digital economy on GTFP, the rationalization of industrial structure has a partial intermediary effect, and the level of effect reaches 35.81%, while the advancement of industrial structure does not necessarily have a "structural dividend", and its influence on GTFP is non-linear. This paper enriches the research on the influencing factors of GTFP, and is also an effective supplement to the research on digital economy. The conclusions provide a reliable empirical basis for digital economy to help the textile and apparel industry pollution control, and also provide policy references for giving full play to the green value of digital economy.